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I have just moved (33 inch) "Fluffy" to a 10 gallon tank and I have a heat lamp over the left side of the enclosure going on and off through the day and off at night. He seems to never go on the side with the heat - why is that? Is it too hot? How many hours should the heat lamp be on during the day - and at what times? Thanks.
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Thanks,
Dan from Long Island
"I have just moved (33 inch) "Fluffy" to a 10 gallon tank "
Fluffy sounds a bit big for a 10 gallon tank.
"I have a heat lamp over the left side of the enclosure going on and off through the day and off at night. He seems to never go on the side with the heat - why is that?"
It is almost impossible to create a heat gradient with a heat lamp in a 10 gallon. I have only been able to do that with a heat pad.
"Is it too hot?"
I don't know, but you are probably cooking your snake. What does your thermometer say?
"How many hours should the heat lamp be on during the day - and at what times?"
You should try to recreate a photo period of 12-14 hours light/12-10 dark in the spring/summer and 8-10 light/16-14 dark during the winter.
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Diego & Tiffany's Zoo
SNAKES
4.4 Corn Snakes (Different morphs)
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor
0.1.0 Dumeril's Boa
0.1.0 Tangerine Honduran Milksnake
1.0.0 Honduran Milksnake
0.1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.1.0 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 Ribbon Snake
0.0.2 Rosy Boas (Mid Baja & Baja)
0.1.0 Pueblan Milksnake
1.2.0 Kenyan Sand Boas
1.0.0 Western Hognose
0.1.0 Solomon Island Boa
1.1.0 Gray Banded Kingsnakes (River Road)
0.0.1 Desert Phase Kingsnake
LIZARDS
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
3.1.0 Bearded Dragons (2 Normal, 1 RedXGold, 1 Citrus)
0.1.0 Eastern Collared Lizard
0.1.0 Merauke Blue Tongue Skink
1.0.0 Turquoise Sunburst Veiled Chameleon
0.0.3 Leopard Geckos
1.1.0 Yellow Niger Uromastyx
Well, the cage is about 24 inches across and it looks more than big enough for him, at this time.
Should I only be using a heating pad, around the clock, with an enclosure of this size? Is that a smarter idea? He seems uninterested in going to the side with the light. The temperature in the enclosure, when the light is on, it about 85 degrees.
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Thanks,
Dan from Long Island
Dan,
24" sounds good. My 10 gallon tanks are a bit smaller. Sounds like you might have a 15 or something.
Maybe he just doesn't want to feel completely exposed in the light. Have you tried using hides on both sides of the tank? You can also create a basking perch on that vine by covering it with a fake plant. He might feel more inclined to bask if he felt more secure.
Also, you could put a heat pad on the back or the side of your tank, near the top and, and that would give you a horizontal and vertical heat gradient, which seems to help in keeping semi-arboreal species.
I don't keep Carpets (yet!), but from what I've read, they like it in the mid 80's with a basking spot of around 90.
BTW, I am not knocking on how you keep your snake, cause I really don't know if you do all these things or not. I am just trying to throw out some suggestions based on things I've read, not personal experience.
Fluffy definitely looks healthy and beautiful. If he has those colors at this age, he is gonna be a SCREAMER of an adult!! I am jealous! Good luck and I hope this helped some.
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Diego & Tiffany's Zoo
SNAKES
4.4 Corn Snakes (Different morphs)
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor
0.1.0 Dumeril's Boa
0.1.0 Tangerine Honduran Milksnake
1.0.0 Honduran Milksnake
0.1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.1.0 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 Ribbon Snake
0.0.2 Rosy Boas (Mid Baja & Baja)
0.1.0 Pueblan Milksnake
1.2.0 Kenyan Sand Boas
1.0.0 Western Hognose
0.1.0 Solomon Island Boa
1.1.0 Gray Banded Kingsnakes (River Road)
0.0.1 Desert Phase Kingsnake
LIZARDS
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
3.1.0 Bearded Dragons (2 Normal, 1 RedXGold, 1 Citrus)
0.1.0 Eastern Collared Lizard
0.1.0 Merauke Blue Tongue Skink
1.0.0 Turquoise Sunburst Veiled Chameleon
0.0.3 Leopard Geckos
1.1.0 Yellow Niger Uromastyx
WOW! Thanks for the great words!
I have a hiding spot on each side. And, it's about the mid-80s in the tank and warmer just above the heating pad. I hope that he enjoys it.
I just measured - it's 20 inches wide.
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Thanks,
Dan from Long Island
Well, it all sounds good to me! Maybe you can try the "hidden" perches, though, and you might see him move around a little more.
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Diego & Tiffany's Zoo
SNAKES
4.4 Corn Snakes (Different morphs)
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor
0.1.0 Dumeril's Boa
0.1.0 Tangerine Honduran Milksnake
1.0.0 Honduran Milksnake
0.1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.1.0 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 Ribbon Snake
0.0.2 Rosy Boas (Mid Baja & Baja)
0.1.0 Pueblan Milksnake
1.2.0 Kenyan Sand Boas
1.0.0 Western Hognose
0.1.0 Solomon Island Boa
1.1.0 Gray Banded Kingsnakes (River Road)
0.0.1 Desert Phase Kingsnake
LIZARDS
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
3.1.0 Bearded Dragons (2 Normal, 1 RedXGold, 1 Citrus)
0.1.0 Eastern Collared Lizard
0.1.0 Merauke Blue Tongue Skink
1.0.0 Turquoise Sunburst Veiled Chameleon
0.0.3 Leopard Geckos
1.1.0 Yellow Niger Uromastyx
Yeah. That's what I call them, don't know the term for them.
In the pic is part of my Candoia set-up. She used to never come out from underneath her cork bark so I took it out and created a burrow with a large front opening.
For the perches, I used the twist vines and tied fake plants to it. This creates little perches with leaf cover on them. You can still see the snake (not in the picture - of course!) and the snake seems to feel a little more secure tucked away in these. Got the idea from Phillippe de Vosjoli's book "The Art of Keeping Snakes".
My Candoia is still young, about 16-18" and as thick as a Sharpie, but with some modifications this same principle applies to Jungle Carpets.
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Diego & Tiffany's Zoo
SNAKES
4.4 Corn Snakes (Different morphs)
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor
0.1.0 Dumeril's Boa
0.1.0 Tangerine Honduran Milksnake
1.0.0 Honduran Milksnake
0.1.0 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.1.0 Ball Pythons
0.0.1 Ribbon Snake
0.0.2 Rosy Boas (Mid Baja & Baja)
0.1.0 Pueblan Milksnake
1.2.0 Kenyan Sand Boas
1.0.0 Western Hognose
0.1.0 Solomon Island Boa
1.1.0 Gray Banded Kingsnakes (River Road)
0.0.1 Desert Phase Kingsnake
LIZARDS
1.0.0 Frilled Dragon
3.1.0 Bearded Dragons (2 Normal, 1 RedXGold, 1 Citrus)
0.1.0 Eastern Collared Lizard
0.1.0 Merauke Blue Tongue Skink
1.0.0 Turquoise Sunburst Veiled Chameleon
0.0.3 Leopard Geckos
1.1.0 Yellow Niger Uromastyx
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